Real Issue of Unions: Nonsense Benefits

The union battle in Wisconsin and other parts of the Midwest that is currently heating up the press right now interested me. Among the many articles I researched that pertain to the issue, The New York Times’s article, “Union Contracts, Not Pay, Are States' Problem” appealed to me the most. It points out a more accurate problem with union contracts and also gives a realistic solution to that problem. The author, David Leonhardt, first recalls previous big city mayors that have been involved in past union issues. He points out a misconception that unions have monetary deals with politicians and that they are corrupt. He also points out that government agencies can do as they please, whether they do it well or not, because they are irreplaceable. They stay right where they are, at least until now. In Wisconsin, Republican Governor Scott Walker is trying to cut the state budget not only by slashing union worker income and benefits, but is also trying to rid workers of their right to even negotiate. Leonhardt's solution is more reasonable. Cut the nonsense benefits --"the wasteful health plans, the pensions that start at age 55 and still let retirees draw a full salary elsewhere, the definitions of disability that treat herniated discs as incurable." Leonhardt notes that this would only solve long-term budget deficiency. For the here and now, below average performance of public workers must be dealt with. By protecting inefficient workers, unions are discouraging governmental progress and must go through more serious evaluations of their workers and weed out the bad.